O's game blog: Orioles-Yankees series begins

The Orioles' homestand continues tonight as they begin a four-game series against the New York Yankees. Both clubs are 9-12 and tied for fourth in the division, four games behind first-place Boston.

The Orioles picked up just their second home win on Sunday, beating Oakland 8-1 and snapping the Athletics' 13-game winning streak.

Right-hander Matt Harvey (1-1, 5.12 ERA) will make his fifth start. He has thrown 19 1/3 innings, never pitching more than five in a game, allowing 24 hits with three walks to 16 strikeouts. He has a 1.397 WHIP, allowing 11.2 hits per nine with 1.4 walks and 7.4 strikeouts.

The Orioles are 2-2 in Harvey's starts. His first inning ERA is 6.75 but it is 0.00 in his second and third innings, 2.25 in the fourth and 13.50 in the fifth.

Harvey is throwing his fastball 61 percent at an average velocity of 93.1 mph. He uses his slider 20 percent, curveball 11 and changeup eight percent.

Harvey has pitched well versus the Yankees, going 1-0 with a 1.63 ERA in four career starts. Over 27 2/3 innings he has walked five and fanned 26. Yankees batters have a batting line against him of .153/.192/.235/.427.

Right-hander Deivi García will make his 2021 season debut, getting the start for the Yankees. In six starts last year, one versus the Orioles, he was 3-2 with a 4.98 ERA and 1.194 WHIP. The Yankees went 4-2 in those games, but one of the two losses was when he started in the second game of a Sept. 4 doubleheader against the Orioles. He went 4 2/3 innings and gave up five hits and four runs on 95 pitches to the Orioles. Ryan Mountcastle hit a two-run homer off him.

The Yankees just took three of four at Cleveland but missed the sweep with Sunday's 7-3 loss. They are 2-4-1 in series play and 5-10 against the American League East. But they are 2-1 versus the Orioles and 25-4 their last 29 games against Baltimore. The Orioles have won three home games in a row against New York but are just 5-21 against them at Oriole Park since 2018.

Both clubs are not hitting much to this point.

Yankees: .206/.302/.353/.655
Orioles: .227/.284/.369/.654

The Yankees are 12th in the AL in team OPS and the Orioles are tied for 13th.